Fiorina says Calif. bankruptcy could be considered

SACRAMENTO, Calif. 
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina told a group of business leaders this week that California should not rule out filing for bankruptcy to deal with its fiscal mess.

Declaring bankruptcy is not an option for California, however, because federal bankruptcy law does not cover states.

The former Hewlett-Packard chief executive made the comments Monday during a discussion with business leaders at a cement plant in the Inland Empire community of Colton.

The Press-Enterprise newspaper of Riverside reported her remarks on Tuesday. Fiorina was responding to a question about whether California should consider bankruptcy.

"I think it should always be considered," Fiorina said. "Whether that is the right approach now, I don't know. I think bankruptcy, as a possibility, at the very least focuses the mind on what has to be done to salvage a situation."

Fiorina added that she is focused on federal issues, not the state budget, over which she would have no authority if elected.

Even discussing the possibility of bankruptcy is counterproductive to California's interests, said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for state Treasurer Bill Lockyer, a Democrat.

"It does nothing but poison the market the next time we want to go out there and try to sell bonds," Dresslar told The Associated Press. "It hurts taxpayers. You might score political points, it might be some snazzy way to talk about the state's finances, but it does taxpayers harm."

Fiorina spokeswoman Julie Soderlund said the candidate's political opponents were distorting her comments.